The Breathitt Pennyrile Parkway north of Crofton is back open, with firefighters and rescue personnel still on the scene to monitor backfires that have been set to control the blaze.
The Christian County ECC says firefighters from Highland Fire Department and the Kentucky Division of Forestry, along with members of the Christian County Rescue squad are continuing to monitor the backfires.
Firefighters from multiple fire departments, including the city of Hopkinsville, as well as fire fighters from Muhlenberg County, Hopkins County, and Todd County, along with the Division of Forestry battled a large field fire into the night in the Crofton area. At least fourteen fire departments responded to the scene of the fire to provide assistance yesterday afternoon and last night.
The initial call came just after 1pm Thursday to the report of a large field fire on Lewis Road, just northeast of Crofton. The fire at 1563 Lewis Road was apparently started by a tree falling on a power line, with the ensuing sparks starting the fire.
With the drought conditions and the low humidity, the fire spread over the course of the afternoon and eventually spread across the Pennyrile Parkway to the east. At one point, officials were concerned about homes in the area, however, no mandatory evacuation order was given.
Both the northbound and southbound lanes of the Pennyrile Parkway were shutdown between the 23 and 30 mile markers until 12:45 Friday morning.
Southbound traffic was routed off at the U.S. 41 exit near Manningston. Northbound traffic was routed off at the Crofton exit over to US 41.
While mandatory evacuations were not ordered, at one point residents in the area were advised to be ready to move, if the fire should threaten their home.
The News Edge's Travis Faulkner was on the scene LIVE over the course of the evening bringing you the latest information.
E-Mail
Print
